2017/04/06

13 Reasons Why

After finishing this series, the idea came to me that I'd like to start a new series on my blog, presenting you my favorite series and films. I sometimes find it quite hard to find a new series or film to watch, because people mostly talk about the same series/films over and over again. I thought that maybe this would help a few of you to discover something new, and so I will present you the new series 13 Reasons Why today.

THE BOOK

13 Reasons Why is a book by Jay Asher which was first published in 2007. The book tells the story of Hannah Baker, a high school girl that commits suicide. Before taking her own life, she records 13 cassette tapes on which she gives all the reasons for her actions. The story is told from the high schooler Clay Jensen's perspective, who was not only a friend of Hannah's but also is desperately trying to understand what exactly happened that apparently left her with no other choice than to commit suicide, by listening to the tapes.

THE SERIES

On 31st March of this year the long-awaited, eponymous series came out. The executive producers were singer and actress Selena Gomez and her mother, who both described the production of this specific series as an affair of the heart.
The first season has 13 episodes, each about 50 - 55 minutes long. Each episode is dealing with one of Hannah's tapes who form the center of the plot.
Until now, there is no official announcement on whether Netflix is counting on producing a second season or not, but as the first season is only out for about a week, we can assume that they eventually will speak out about this matter some time in the ( hopefully near ) future.

MY PERSONAL OPINION

Even though I'm a huge fan of books and am reading quite a lot, I'll have to admit that I didn't know about this book before I heard Selena Gomez speak up about the series project. After watching the trailer, it was quite clear to me that I really had to watch the series as soon as it would come out. And so I watched the 13 episodes in about 5 days, and am now really hoping for a second season.

What I really loved about it was the fact that there was finally somebody who speaks up about the struggles and issues that many teenagers have to face on a daily basis. I don't want to spoiler, so I won't speak about the kind of issues that the series is thematizing. The cast of the production often pointed out how important it was to them to say the 'unromantizised truth' about teenage suicide and the issues that can lead to such a drastic reaction. In my opinion, they really did a good job at portraying the reality which isn't a very easy task.

Even though this is a more subjective opinion, I personally also quite liked that there was no really famous actor (or actress) playing a caracter, as this made the story even more authentical and somehow relatable in my opinion. It's quite hard for me to say that the actors 'played the caracters' because in my opinion, they were the caracters for the length of the series which is rare to find in such an extent.

The 2 main caracters were impersonated by Christian Minnette ( as Clay Jenson ), whom I haven't seen in any productions before this one ( even though he has been around for quite some time as it seems ), and Katherine Langford ( as Hannah Baker ), for whom this series was actually an acting premiere ( believe it or not ). They both did a great job and I look forward to see even more productions with them, and hopefully in a second season of 13 Reasons Why.

CONCLUSION

As you may have guessed after my long raving about the series, I would highly recommend you look into the series ( or the book ). Not only is it a really well-executed production, but it also thematizes very important issues that our society is dealing with. Issues which people have to take more serious and speak up about. Hopefully, this series will mark the beginning of a bigger concern for these problems, make people pay more attention to their surrounding and eventually, finding a solution or helping others who struggle with this kind of things.

THE TRAILER / FEATURETTE

2 comments

I love the series. The cast and the storyline is amazing but I like the book a little bit more, idk why. The topic in general is really important. I love your blogpost about it and I think your blog is wonderful. :)Lg Lili from Lilith Ines

I love it so much aswell, and am so happy that there will be a 2nd season! I guess I'll read the book after my exams, because right now I unfortunately can't really compare it... Thank you so much, I'm really glad to hear that!:) xx